The Poetry of Physics — Quiz

Question 14 • English Language Arts 11

Which statement best explains how Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole” and Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc” present differing views about the universe?

Answer

Collins ponders the idea that a person can overcome all obstacles as long as there is music spilling from a headset, while Tyson establishes the idea that human beings are at the mercy of a violent universe.

Collins’s poem puts forth the idea that humans can become the center of the universe, while Tyson reveals that humans are insignificantly small and weak in comparison to a black hole.

Tyson’s essay reveals that humanity is powerless when it comes to the larger forces of the universe, while Collins’s poem argues that humanity is the center of the universe, and thus its master.

Since Tyson is a scientist, he poses the idea that the universe can be understood through science, while Collins, a poet, argues that art or music holds the key to understanding the world.

Explanation

Collins’s poem imagines a listener so absorbed in music that the surrounding world seems to revolve around him, making a person feel like the universe’s center. Tyson’s essay describes the immense power of a black hole, emphasizing how small and vulnerable humans are compared with cosmic forces. Choice D captures this contrast; choice B reverses Collins’s idea by claiming humans are the masters of the universe.

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